Fitbit recently released their latest addition to the smartwatch game, Versa, but they’re not done innovating yet. The health and fitness tech company just announced a new collaboration with Google. Using the recently unveiled Google Cloud Healthcare API, Fitbit users may soon be able to share their data with healthcare providers.

“At Google, our vision is to transform the way health information is organized and made useful,” Gregory Moore, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of healthcare at Google Cloud, said in a press release. “Together, we have the opportunity to deliver up-to-date information to providers, enhancing their ability to follow and manage the health of their patients and guide their treatment.”

Fitbit says the goal is to help doctors gain more insights into a patient’s overall health and the daily habits that create that picture. Because when you go to a sports medicine doctor or a physical therapist, questions such as, “What’s your approximate heart rate when you experience symptoms?” or “During your typical workout, what is the highest your heart rate usually reaches?” probably stump you.

With this partnership, you wouldn’t need to know the answers—your doc could theoretically get access to your Fitbit platform, and then plug that data directly into your electronic medical records. “[It allows] us to create a more comprehensive patient profile, leading to more personalized care and better health outcomes,” Fitbit told Runner's World.

All of this could be a major game changer for the medical community, says Naresh Rao, D.O., an osteopathic primary care physician and sports medicine specialist at Sports Medicine at Chelsea. “Wearable technology can minimize the subjectivity of patient reporting, which can be inaccurate at times,” he says. “Being an osteopathic sports medicine physician, I need to know these details in order to correctly issue an exercise prescription.”

For runners in particular, Rao says Fitbit’s data points can be beneficial in helping ensure you aren’t pushing too hard, which can lead to various heart conditions, including arrhythmia and heart attack. They can also help doctors gain better insight into what’s going on with your body, especially for issues like addressing overtraining syndrome (which can lead to injury and exhaustion), understanding why someone may not be losing weight, or cracking sleep disturbances that can lead to a lack of recovery.

Plus, this isn't Fitbit's first foray into healthcare. Over the past few years, the brand has enabled healthcare providers to scale the subsidization and distribution of Fitbit trackers within corporate wellness programs, and they most recently partnered with UnitedHealthcare to offer an employer-sponsored wearable device wellness program that incentivizes employees to track their activity and earn up to $1,500 in health savings account or reimbursement credits.

But there is the issue of data sharing to think about here. Considering the current Facebook controversy around personal data and privacy, you'd be wise to wonder if this could pose the same risk, especially since it’s even more intimate and personal information. Google said in the press release that their Healthcare API is secure, and they’re “committed to meeting the requirements for security and privacy in the health care industry,” which includes HIPAA compliance. But let’s be honest: Any time you share your information, you’re taking a risk.

And while Fitbit isn’t sharing specifics just yet about what exactly your doctor will be able to see—and whether or not you can pick and choose that information—the company did say that they are not sharing user data with Google, and that their data practices will continue to be governed by the Fitbit privacy policy. “We will continue to give Fitbit users choices regarding how their information is shared, including when it comes to EMRs or other integrations,” they said in an email.

Regardless, we all have plenty of time before we have to make any decisions. The technology is not yet available on any current Fitbit models, nor does the company have a timeline for when it will be ready. Still, this partnership makes us believe we’re well on our way to a completely new way of managing our health.

Samantha LefaveFreelance WriterSamantha Lefave is a fitness, health, and travel writer and editor, and she seems to always be hopping on a plane or stepping into a gym in search of her next story.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Runner's World participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.